I want you to be my listing agent -- oh, and please lie to me.

In very few other industries do we find this phenomenon. 

When we ask a doctor for a medical opinion, we want the truth.  Perhaps we're having some symptoms that disturb us, so we set an appointment to let our medical practitioner have a look.  While we may not like the prognosis, or we may question it, our options are simple -- we listen and try to adjust to the prescription and treatment regimen, or we can seek a second opinion.  But we never want them to lie to us even though it's our own body -- we want the truth, and the sooner the better.  If they don't know, we want them to tell us -- but by all means, don't make something up just to placate us!  Heaven forbid -- that's borderline malpractice, isn't it? 

The same is true about seeking legal advice.  If we have a small claims issue to which our attorney says, "you'll pay more in legal fees than the case is worth, and the probability of your getting adequate restitution is very limited.  Just forget it and move on", we don't want them to instead tell us, "Oh, this looks like an easy case.  You're clearly in the right and they are in the wrong.  Let me get started on this to see if we can win a big settlement".  We'd all much rather have the truth, if we trust our attorney.  And if we don't trust them, why are we using them?   

I'm running a number of other industries through my mind but I can't think of a single one where people really expect the professional practitioner to lie to them, or to soft peddle their advice.  It just doesn't happen, except in real estate.  (Can you picture the car lot where the owner of this old clunker says, "how much for my trade?", and the owner says, "Are you wanting me to give you money or are you wanting to pay me to take it off your hands?").  With resale houses, they really can be the pits and people still think they are market ready!  It's bizarre!    

So when we're working with most professionals, we want the truth, except with Real Estate.  Here, it just seems that a lot of folks want us to soft peddle the answers; particularly, for sellers of their own residences but often for investors, too. 

Why this is true probably has a lot more to do with psychology than I care to think about, but suffice it to say, people have a vested, emotional interest in their homes and their rehab projects.   And, when we're on the listing appointment, part of the skill of a trained professional is to convey some facts, as well as our personal opinion, but to come away with the listing!   

And at no time is our skill level in professional Real Estate sales tested through "trial by fire" than when we're having an economic slow down.  That's when the industry weeds out the part-timers and the non-professionals (I'm hoping to find I'm not in that group! :^), and here is the reason why -- there really is only so much business to go around.  Contrary to popular belief, there is not an infiinite number of houses that will sell this year, but fortunately for us, the market is huge.

In fact, the market potential within a larger metro market is virtually unlimited!  

But what, you ask, does this have to do with, "I want you to be my listing agent -- oh, and please lie to me.  ". 

Case in point.  Last weekend, I went to an open house.  I don't personally have the listing, but the agent who does is well-respected agent in the industry -- a veteran, but the house has been sitting on the market for nearly a year! 

It has many redeeming features but one of them is not it's condition, at least not at the market price they are expecting it to bring. 

Let me get specific:

It's a 90-year old home, and in 90-year old homes in Des Moines, the basements are made of tile, or a hardened clay- or concrete-based brick.  That's about it for foundation materials of that vintage.  Often, these basements are treated with a concrete mortar-based "slurry" -- nothing real scientific about during it right but professional application methods are beyond the scope of this little article (IOW, I don't know how it's done but it does look better than the old tile and can look good for decades, when properly applied). 

With older foundations that have not been slurry coated, there is often lots of effloursecence in the mortar joints.  It's because the foundation is not water tight, and this telegraphs to the new buyer, "I am a maintenance intensive home!!!  Don't buy me!  Don't buy me!"  So unless there is a large discount off the retail price, or a shortage of housing stock, this house will be on the market longer than a Ford Taurus with a crumpled fender at the used car lot -- all the while costing the current owners a mortgage payment, or at least the property taxes.     

Here is what a good source says about efflourescence on mortar joints.

----- Efflorescence (skip to next "-----" if you're not interested in the detail) 

Efflorescence is a crystalline deposit of water-soluble salts on the surface of masonry. Although efflorescence is unsightly and a nuisance to remove, it is not harmful to the brick masonry nor does it affect the structural integrity of the masonry. For efflorescence to occur, a number of conditions are necessary; there must be a source of water into the masonry, there must be soluble salts within the masonry, and there must be a path for the water to get to the surface of the masonry and evaporate.

Efflorescence occurs only occasionally and it is difficult to predict when it will occur. However, efflorescence is generally associated with wet and cold weather, and the early life of the building.

The source of the salts may be from either the brick or the cement and/or lime in the mortar.

Building Bloom: In new construction, efflorescence is referred to as "new building bloom," and the source of the water is the moisture within the building material during the construction period. Once the building is completed and the building components dry out to the ambient humidity level, no further efflorescence should be expected.

The removal of efflorescence is relatively easy. Efflorescence salts are water soluble and generally will disappear of their own accord with normal weathering. This is particularly true of "new building bloom." If more immediate removal is required, efflorescence salts can be removed by dry brushing or with clear water and a stiff brush. Refer to Cleaning Procedure "Plain Water Cleaning" above.

It is advisable to allow the brickwork to dry out completely before attempting to remove efflorescence. In extreme cases of efflorescence, a thin layer of poultice can be applied to the masonry surface after cleaning. This will draw the salts out beyond the brick surface.

Note: Power washing is not recommended as this process will drive additional water into the masonry and result in further efflorescence.

Note: If efflorescence occurs repeatedly, it is an indication of excess moisture in the brickwork. The source of this moisture must be identified and eliminated to reduce further problems.

Lime Weeping or "Bleed": This is a rare phenomenon. Unlike normal efflorescence, which is deposited as a thin surface layer, lime weeping builds up to form a thick encrustation in a localized area. It usually occurs at joints, cracks or base wall flashing level. Lime weeping is more difficult to remove. Contact Canada Brick for advice in removing lime weeping.

------

So all of this is just to say, why hasn't this experienced agent said, "you have to fix this or your house is not going to sell".  Or, if the agent has said this, over the course of a year, why hasn't this been resolved?

Two reasons.  

1) Unmotivated seller, i.e. the agent informed the seller, "You'll have to fix this or your house won't sell, at least not at a full-market price like what you're asking", or more likely,

2) The seller knows the agent fairly well and the agent thinks the seller needs them to "lie" to them, otherwise they won't get the listing.  The seller wants to hear, "oh, you have a lovely home here", from the agent and many times they did have a lovely home, when their furniture was in it hiding all the imperfections, but now that the cover is all gone, the needed maintenance sticks out like a sore thumb.  

So they want us to lie to them and tell them, "this house will sell ..." ("when pigs fly", which we mutter under our breath), and we hope the buyer's agent bales us out by blindfolding the buyer as they walk them through the basement. 

Just who is kidding whom? 

But you say, "I can't tell the seller everything or I won't get the listing!"  This is 100% correct.  They're not ready to listen to the real truth during the first listing appointment.  Trust me, I know.  I've reduced one gal to tears being a little too honest (she thought I was being brutally honest, and 10 months later, this house is still not sold -- it may never sell! -- at least not at the price they are expecting.  People don't pay for other people's headaches.  

Anyhow, we can't tell them the facts, just yet.  We can hint at the facts ("We'll be monitoring buyer feedback all along and if we don't get an offer in the first 3 wweeks, I'll be getting feedback from agents, if we've had showings, and we'll see what the objections are".   Hogwash!  We don't have the time and that is a disservice to our sellers!   So, we're in a conundrum -- damned if we do and damned if we don't. 

How to cure this dilemma -- Don't tell the seller everything before you take the listing, unless you know the clients better than most agents do on the first appointment. 

I've discovered that if you tell them everything you know, there is a high probability you won't get the listing! 

What we want to do is set up an agent tour afterwards, and have the other agents tell the sellers' through your agent tour feedback forms (you do have those, don't you?) and then you'll look real smart but you personally won't be the barer of bad tidings.  You'll still look like an expert, and their "friend".   

So that was a long story, but the point is, our industry is very different.  In my opinion, this skill is one of the more difficult to master.  I think women do this a LOT better than men, and women relate to other women (who tend to be the decorators in the home) which is why they have a competitive advantage over men in this industry.  Women are sensitive enough not to offend another woman.  We guys tend to be clutzes on this stuff.   

If you're a woman, however, don't let this go to your head.  We're onto you gals and we'll make up for this advantage.  How?  Because we actually know not only how to say "efflourescence" many of us know how to cure it! 

It's a man thing...